Stop worrying about your watermelons: Food expert slams reports of harmful dyes being injected into fruit

Updated on May 25, 2024 at 3:09 p.m. IST

Renowned food expert Krish Ashok has slammed social media reports that fruit sellers are injecting erythrosine-B into watermelons to improve their appearance. According to Ashok, injecting the dye in one place would only color a particular area, contrary to what the images and videos show. Read on to learn how to check fruit.

Many influencers and media reports show that the most commonly used adulterant in watermelon is erythrosine B.

Food expert Krish Ashok criticized media reports that fruit sellers were injecting the harmful dye Erythrosine-B, also known as Red-B, in watermelons to improve their appearance. According to Ashok, injecting the dye into one spot would only color a particular area, contrary to what the images show. “Injecting dye into a watermelon in one spot only colors the immediate area and all this news shows perfectly uniform bright red watermelons. That’s not how physics works, that’s how Photoshop works,” he said on Instagram.

Many influencers and media reports show that the most commonly used adulterant in watermelon is erythrosine B, a red-colored dye that makes the fruit look ripe and juicy. It is also known to increase the shelf life of watermelon.

A video posted on social media demonstrates the same practice, and it has gone viral on social media. A clip posted to a YouTube channel shows a masked man injecting chemicals into a watermelon as part of the experiment.

According to WebMD, consumption of Erythrosine B may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and loss of appetite. A study published in the Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal further highlights that the toxic compound also affects embryos, leading to an increased risk of infertility.

However, Ashok said the injections can cause the fruit to rot quickly, which is not the case with most watermelons. “The injections leave visible holes and cause fruit to rot quickly during the Indian summer. Indian farmers don’t really have the money to be able to take that risk and you can see the holes very easily.

Ways to Pick a Good Watermelon

According to food and travel guide Taste Atlas, here are some simple tips to follow when buying watermelons:

Always buy round watermelons which will taste sweet, elongated ones are watery and tasteless

The outer skin of a ripe watermelon is always dark and dull. Do not go for the pale, shiny varieties which are usually not ripe and sold in the market before their time.

Look for an orange spot on the watermelon’s outer skin to determine its flavor. While those with a white spot are generally considered tasteless.

The wider the strap on the outer skin, the sweeter the fruit will be. On the other hand, those with smaller straps are generally bland and tasteless.

“A scientific way to validate this is to randomly collect watermelons from multiple locations and test them in the lab. The injections do not color the fruits uniformly and if many people had fallen ill, we would have known about it,” added Ashok.

Health Benefits of Eating Watermelons

According to experts, watermelons are one of the best fruits to eat in summer because they help reduce blood pressure and improve circulation to support heart health.

Watermelon also helps reduce muscle pain, manage weight, aid digestion, and protect your skin. Eating this fruit can also protect against chronic diseases.